     s$
     $$     .d""b. .d""b.                  HOE E'ZINE #1090
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     $$  $$ $$  $$ $$ss$$              "Tweet-tweet The Sparrow"
     $$  $$ $$  $$ $$                        by Trilobyte
     $$  $$ $$  $$ $$  $$                      06/07/00
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     $$  $$ "TssT" "TssT"

        near a parking lot for an office building in the center of town,
 tweet-tweet the sparrow fell from a tree like a bird on a leaf and landed
 on a few blades of grass.  he looked at them but wasn't too interested so
 he tried to stand up but it didn't work;  his attempts were met with sharp
 pains in his legs.  having no choice, he laid there on his side and stared
 at the plain blades of grass and the dirt underneath.  there were no worms.

        tweet-toot the pigeon sauntered by and noticed how tweet-tweet the
 sparrow wasn't moving.

        "what's wrong, tweet-tweet?" tweet-toot asked, "are you stuck?"

        "i was in the tree but now i'm down here and i can't go anywhere
 else," tweet-tweet explained.

        tweet-toot, being an old pigeon and having much experience in the
 world, understood the problem.

        "you are injured!  some part of you is broken," he told tweet-tweet.

        tweet-tweet looked disappointed.  "how can i get fixed?"

        "you need to go to an immediate-care clinic, tweet-tweet.  maybe
 even to the emergency room at the hospital."

        tweet-tweet became excited.  "yes!  take me!  please!  i can't stay
 here forever, i have to go.  i think i saw an apple over there!"

        tweet-toot shook his head.  "i'm sorry, tweet-tweet, i don't think
 you'll be able to get that apple.  see, hospitals cost money, and we birds
 simply haven't got the capital assets to visit immediate-care clinics or
 hospitals."

        "what?  so i can't get fixed?" tweet-tweet asked, as he began to
 cry.  "probably not," tweet-toot replied.  "but i'll get hark-tweet th
 bluejay, he has been in a person's house before.  maybe he'll have an
 idea."

        tweet-toot the pigeon left, and came back fifteen minutes later with
 hark-tweet the bluejay's cousin, toot-taweet.  together, they assessed the
 situation.  they nodded to each other a few times and then fetched some
 worms for tweet-tweet, which he ate appreciatively.

        soon, a few dozen birds from around the area began to help
 tweet-tweet by bringing him food.  if he was awake, they would talk to him
 and amuse him as best they could.  if he was sleeping (which he did a lot)
 they would leave the food by his head, for him to have when he woke up.

        hark-tweet the bluejay, who had been in a person's house before, was
 pretty good at communicating with people.  but he was away for a few weeks,
 visiting some friends by the river (the river is neat, you can swoop down
 and catch things).  his cousin, toot-taweet the bluejay, and tweet-toot,
 the pigeon, tried to establish a charitable fund to raise money for
 tweet-tweet the sparrow's recovery, but no human people seemed to pay
 attention to them.

        toot-pa-pa-weet the cardinal wanted to help, though, and found a dime
 in a parking lot and gave it to hark-tweet the bluejay.

        "you can put this in the fund for tweet-tweet," he said.  "how is he
 doing?"

        "he is still just laying there," hark-tweet replied.  "as soon as he
 gets up, i think we're going over to the river to celebrate!"

        "i'm sure he'll like that," toot-pa-pa-weet smiled.  "i'll see you
 then?"

        "sure thing."

        though he wouldn't admit it, hark-tweet the bluejay had already lost
 hope.

        after toot-pa-pa-weet left, hark-tweet laid his dime next to
 tweet-tweet to raise his spirits.  tweet-tweet's eyes showed a faint
 glimmer of satisfaction, and then went blank.

        six days after falling from the tree, tweet-tweet the sparrow died a
 silent death of boredom.  his body laid there for two weeks, until howard
 the custodian-person picked it up with a shovel and threw it in a nearby
 dumpster.

        in tweet-tweet's honor, nearby birds kept a vow of silence for three
 weeks.

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 [ (c) HOE E'ZINE -- http://www.hoe.nu   HOE #1090, BY TRILOBYTE - 6/07/00 ]
